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Presented  to  Princeton  Theological  Seminary 
By  the  f^ev.  Wendell  Prime,   D.D. 

To  be  Kept  Always  as  a  Separate  Collection. 


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NEW   YORK,    DECEMBER,    1898 


1Rutb  Mavens  pvimc 


fPiotc 


Zbcsc  worOs  ace  written  for  bee  neacsot*ft(n  anO  friends  wbo 
loved  ber  dearly,  ^an^  tbings  are  written  tbat  are  not 
Intended  for  otbers.  If  It  sball  fall  under  tbe  ei^es  of 
otbers,  let  tbem  remember  tbat  wbat  tbes  mlgbt  criticise 
10  a   eacred   mcmovs  to   ue.        j^      j^      ^      j&      &^ 


a  Sbort,  ineeful,  Complcte^  Xtfe 


IRutb  Ibavens  iPrime 


[Second  daughter  of  Ralph  E.  Prime  and  Annie  Richards-Wolcott 
Prime,  his  wife,  was  born  at  Yonkers.  N.  Y.,  June  i.  1874.  Died  at  Yonkers, 
N.  Y.,  January  16,  1905.  J 

Among  the  strange  and  inscrutable  events  in  human  experience 
one  of  the  most  inscrutable  is  the  taking  away  from  a  life  of  useful- 
ness and  of  devotion  to  others,  of  one  who  had  given  herself  to  a 
life  of  ministry  to  the  suffering  of  her  fellows,  and  whose  prepara- 
tion for  such  service  was  only  just  fully  completed  when  called  to 
lay  down  the  work. 

The  human  heart  looks  for  and  yearns  to  find  the  explanation, 
and  ever  asks  "  Why  "?  There  is  a  reason,  a  good,  a  wise,  reason. 
We  can  not  know  it  in  this  life,  yet  that  yearning  to  know  shall  be 
satisfied,  though  not  here  or  now.  We  are  content  here  only  in  the 
satisfaction  which  comes  with  the  restful  consciousness  that  God, 
who  doeth  all  things  well,  knows  the  "  Why  ". 

The  childhood  and  young  days  of  Ruth  Havens  Prime  were 
not  altogether  different  from  those  of  many  other  young  women, 
and  yet  they  were  filled  with  a  sympathy  and  tenderness  and  help- 
fulness for  others  which,  from  her  earliest  years,  marked  her  char- 
acter and  heart  as  those  of  a  born  nurse.  From  a  very  child  her 
heart  yearned  over,  and  her  hands  and  feet  were  busy  for,  any  sick  in 
the  household.  Those  acts  passed  without  special  remark  and  were 
scarcely  noticed  at  the  time,  but  in  the  memory  of  those  years  our 
hearts  recall,  not  only  the  now  well-remembered  child  acts,  but  like- 
wise the  gentleness  and  helpfulness  of  her  young  womanhood  that 
told  of  a  nature  which  found  its  best  and  most  reasonable  outgoing 
in  tender  attention  to  the  suffering. 

S 


In  nDemoriam 


Among  the  hundreds  of  letters  received  by  us  during  these  last 
days,  one  recalls  her  as  a  little  girl,  visiting  the  "  babies'  ward  "  of 
a  New  York  hospital,  and  going  among  the  babies'  beds,  from  one 
to  another,  and  talking  to  and  cheering  the  sufifering  little  ones.  She 
was  so  touched  with  the  experience  that  all  her  young  activities  were 
exercised  in  the  successful  work  of  a  little  girls'  fair,  planned  in  her 
own  home  and  carried  out  in  a  neighbor's  house  by  little  girls,  at 
which  a  considerable  sum  was  raised  for  that  charity.  It  was  clear 
then  to  all,  that  her  interest  was  the  outgoing  of  her  heart  in  sym- 
pathy for  the  suffering  ones. 

We  now  recall  how,  when  an  accident  kept  for  weeks  in  our  home 
a  loved  friend,  it  was  Ruth  who  found  that  the  opportunity  to  show 
devoted  attention  to  the  sufferer  at  her  bedside,  was  more  attractive 
than  her  girl's  play  and  recreations. 

Not  only  for  those  in  actual  suffering,  but  to  those  deprived  of 
ordinary  joys  in  life,  was  she  sensitive  and  helpful.  We  remember 
also  how  as  a  young  schoolgirl  she  absented  herself  for  a  long  time 
from  the  Saturday  play  of  others,  to  slip  away  unnoticed  to  an 
humble  home  and  read  to  a  blind  girl. 

Her  hands  right  early  learned  to  make  the  simple  things  that 
tempt  the  appetite  of  the  sick  ones  and  these  she  pressed  upon 
them  in  her  home. 

Even  during  the  passing  away  of  one  in  the  household  it  was  our 
little  child  Ruth  who,  creeping  to  the  bed  of  suffering,  and  behind 
the  pillows,  supporting  them  upon  her  knees,  while  the  tired  and 
weary  head  of  the  dying  aunt  rested  there.  How  little  we  then 
thought  of  what  these  things  really  told  of  character,  and  of  the 
beginnings  of  a  life  to  be  developed  into  supreme  capacity  for  sym- 
pathy, helpfulness  and  usefulness  among  the  suffering  ones,  for 
whose  cheer  God  gave  her  to  us. 

When  the  time  came  for  lessons  beyond  those  of  the  family  and 
the  primary  school  her  education  went  on,  first  at  the  Yonkers  High 
School.  From  time  to  time  in  later  years,  and  through  these  recent 
days,  has  come  the  testimony  of  her  then  teachers  to  the  lasting 
friendships  she  won  from  them  at  that  high  school,  by  her  mind  and 

6 


YONKERS,   NOVEMBER,   1875 


•Rutb  Mavene  prime 


heart  and  developing  character.  From  the  high  school  she  con- 
tinued her  education  at  Miss  Bliss's  Academy  for  Girls  at  Yonkers, 
and  there  also  girl  friendships  were  formed  by  her  which  the  sepa- 
ration of  many  years  and  great  distances  have  never  cooled,  and  her 
companions  still  treasure  memories  of  her  tenderness  and  sympathy 
in  their  troubles.  She  had  found  out  in  those  young  years  how 
drear  the  w^orld  is  when  trouble  comes,  and  a  letter  recently  written 
tells  of  her  ministry  of  love  among  her  then  schoolmates  in  their 
sorrows.  She  completed  her  school  days  at  Evelyn  College  at 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  where  she  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  being  taught 
by  the  instructors  and  professors  of  Princeton  University.  How 
well  we  now  recall  those  days  away  from  home ;  how  she  enjoyed 
her  study  of  Latin  and  Greek  and  the  sciences,  practically  going  over 
the  same  ground  pursued  by  her  brothers  in  the  University.  Her  let- 
ters of  those  years,  a  diary  of  her  life  and  experience,  are  all  preserved 
and  are  a  treasured  story.  Then  came  the  years  at  home.  They  were 
years  of  great  usefulness,  and  yet  of  unrest,  for  she  yearned  for 
earnest  doing,  the  sphere  for  which  she  had  not  yet  found. 

In  the  summer  of  1896  she  went  abroad  with  her  father  and 
mother  and  sisters  and  spent  nearly  four  months,  visiting  England, 
Scotland,  France,  Germany,  Switzerland  and  Italy. 

In  the  winter  of  1899  and  1900  the  desire  for  a  larger  usefulness 
and  the  sense  of  her  yet  limited  opportunities  got  hold  of  her  with 
great  earnestness.  A  nurse  by  nature,  she  longed  for  better  knowl- 
edge that  she  might  be  fitted  for  greater  and  better  helpfulness  and 
usefulness.  The  desire  took  possession  of  her  to  pursue  a  regular 
course  of  instruction  in  the  art  of  trained  nursing,  and  after  long 
deliberation  and  many  family  conferences  she  won  the  reluctant 
consent  of  her  parents  and  sought  acceptance  as  a  probationer  in 
the  Nurses'  Training  School  of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  in  New 
York  City.  The  regular  course  of  instruction  required  her  entrance 
upon  the  hospital  course  the  following  May,  but  she  secured  per- 
mission to  postpone  that  date  until  the  next  October  in  order  that 
she  might  again  accompany  her  father's  family  on  their  regular  trip 
abroad. 


In  nDemoriam 


Again,  in  1900,  with  her  father  and  mother  and  two  of  her  sisters, 
she  went  abroad  for  nearly  four  months,  during  which  time  they 
visited  Palestine,  Syria,  Asia,  Italy,  Switzerland,  France,  England 
and  Wales.  She  saw  and  walked  about  in  Jerusalem,  Bethlehem 
and  the  holy  places ;  in  Beyrout,  Rhodes,  Samos,  Constantinople, 
Athens  and  Rome,  and  the  other  cities  of  more  frequent  resort. 
During  those  months,  in  anticipation  of  her  own  prospective  life- 
work,  she  found  satisfaction  in  visiting  the  hospitals  of  European 
cities  and  the  Far  East.  Her  heart  tenderly  went  out  to  the  poor 
sufferers  in  those  Eastern  countries  whom  she  found  in  the  hospitals 
and  dispensaries,  particularly  at  Jerusalem,  seeking  aid  they  could 
only  obtain  from  Europeans  and  Americans,  who  there  devote  them- 
selves to  that  work  among  the  poor,  suffering  Arab  people ;  and  her 
wishes  were  often  expressed  that  she  might  some  day  go  back  again 
and  join  in  that  work. 

Returning  home  late  in  September,  on  the  very  first  day  of 
October  she  began  her  work  as  a  probationer  in  the  Nurses'  Training 
School  of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  in  New  York  City.  We  well 
recall  what  she  suffered  during  those  weeks  of  trial,  trained  at  the 
outset  by  the  hardest  and  sometimes  the  most  trying  work  to  make 
a  test  of  the  endurance  and  devotion  necessary  to  meet  in  after  life 
any  and  ever>'  possible  call  that  might  come  in  that  vocation.  But 
she  was  equal  to  it  all.  The  goal  was  never  out  of  sight  to  her. 
and  enabled  her  to  meet  whatever  lay  in  the  path.  One  of  her  glad 
days  indeed  was  that  on  which  she  was  summoned  to  the  room  of 
the  Superintendent,  Miss  Maxwell,  who  with  words  of  satisfaction 
placed  upon  her  head  the  white  cap,  the  badge  of  success  in  the 
probationary  trials  and  of  acceptance  into  the  Training  School.  As 
all  others  who  had  gone  before  had  done,  she  gladly  signed  the 
nurse's  promise  to  pursue  three  full  years  of  study,  and  to  render 
three  full  years  of  service  to  the  hospital,  and  began  her  work. 

They  were  not  years  of  study  and  of  work  only.  The  ethics  of 
the  school  forbade  any  outward  fellowship  of  members  of  one  class 
with  those  of  another  class,  but  her  sweet  spirit  in  unconscious  acts 
and  unstudied  words,  was  perforce  felt  not  only  upon  her  own  class 

8 


IRutb  Mavene  prime 


women,  but  also  upon  those  in  the  classes  alxjve  her,  as  well  as 
in  those  below  her.  Some  of  her  most  devoted  friends  were  those 
of  the  higher  classes,  who  were  providentially  to  feel  the  cheer  of 
her  words  and  the  influence  of  her  kindly  spirit  and  encouragement. 
One  of  these  now  writes :  "  I  wish  I  could  make  you  understand 
how  much  she  meant  to  me.  I  always  left  her  with  the  assurance 
that  I  had  been  elevated.  She  was  so  thoughtful  and  kind,  and 
'  tided  me  over  '  many  times  when  I  surely  must  have  given  up 
had  she  not  come  to  me  ". 

Nor  was  her  service  to  the  patients  who  were  her  charge  and 
care  in  any  sense  perfunctory  or  measured  by  the  limit  of  her  duty. 
The  poor  always  appealed  to  her  sympathies.  One  of  the  graduates 
of  the  hospital  and  one  of  her  own  classmates  writes :  "  The  poor 
women  were  desperately  sick  and  their  recovery  seemed  hopeless, 
and  the  necessary  food  did  not  tempt  them.  Ruth  would  tempt 
them  with  delicacies  which  she  brought  and  urged  upon  them  that 
they  might  gain  strength.  She  could  not  see  them  discharged  from 
the  hospital  to  rely  upon  themselves,  but  sought  them  out  in  their 
homes,  or,  where  they  had  no  homes,  sought  homes  for  them  and 
kept  watch  over  them  in  her  spare  hours.  *  *  *  All  through 
her  hospital  course,  unselfish  for  herself,  thoughtfulness  for  others 
pursued  her,  and  this  did  not  cease  with  their  leaving  the  hospital. 
I  have  gone  with  her,  after  her  long,  hard  day's  duty  was  over,  to 
a  distant  part  of  the  city,  to  which  she  went  to  take  medicine  to  the 
poor  cripple,  a  former  patient  of  hers,  whom  she  also  aided  in  eflforts 
to  gain  a  scanty  support  for  herself  with  needlework ;  and  she  would 
take  of  the  work  of  that  poor  girl  and  spend  her  time  and  efforts 
among  her  friends,  in  seeking  to  sell  her  handiwork  for  her  thus 
to  assist  her." 

The  fallen  girls  who  sometimes  were  her  patients  she  did  not 
cease  to  pit}-  when  they  had  left  the  hospital,  and  she  sought  them 
in  their  humble  homes  and  strengthened  them  and  by  practical  aid 
and  sympathy  and  encouragement  helped  them  to  flee  from  sin  and 
vice,  that  they  might  not  fall  again,  and  not  a  few  now  testify  that 
she  saved  them  from  disgraceful  lives. 


In  flDemoriam 


During  the  probationary  weeks,  each  one  on  trial  is  assigned  to 
the  charge  of  some  member  of  an  upper  class.  The  faultfinding 
with  such  a  candidate,  for  inaccurate  or  slighting  work,  was  no 
pleasant  task  to  her,  and  the  words  of  one  of  those  who  occupied 
such  relation  to  her  will  testify  of  that  spirit :  "  Had  it  not  been 
for  Ruth's  lovely  interest  and  encouraging  words  which  she  spoke 
to  me  in  so  many  hard  places  and  while  at  so  many  trying  tasks 
I  should  have  given  it  up  and  abandoned  the  whole  thing.  *  =i^  * 
I  think  very  few  can  realize  or  know  how  deeply  her  almost  silent 
influence  for  good  aflFected  my  daily  life  in  the  hospital  ". 

Nor  were  the  influence  and  encouragement  and  kind  words  only 
for  her  own  probationers.  Since  she  passed  away  words  have  come 
to  us  from  many  others,  some  now  in  the  higher  classes,  and  some 
graduate  nurses,  of  the  encouragement,  influence  and  example  she 
was  to  them,  and  one  of  them  now  writes,  "  without  these  T  could 
not  have  succeeded  in  the  trijil.  and  to  her  kindly  words  and  encour- 
agement and  lovely  influence  I  am  indebted  for  my  success  and  my 
place  to-day  ". 

During  her  course  in  the  Nurses'  Training  School  she  contracted 
a  contagious  disease,  and  was  prostrated  for  many  weeks  on  a  bed 
of  dangerous  sickness.  Where  she  contracted  it  no  one  knows. 
With  all  the  care  and  precautions  of  the  hospital  it  is  apparent  it 
was  not  there.  But  from  her  interest  in  the  poor  the  suspicion 
naturally  arises  that  in  her  visitations  to  humble  homes,  in  her  work 
of  sympathy,  she  was  exposed  to  the  contagion.  Recovering  from 
this  sickness  of  months,  other  months  of  recuperation  succeeded  and 
she  returned  to  her  duty,  and  was  graduated  in  June,  1903,  fourth 
in  standing  in  a  large  class ;  but  to  complete  her  pledged  service  of 
three  full  years  she  continued  in  the  hospital  work  until  the  follow- 
ing winter,  and  then  took  a  needed  rest,  during  which  she  was  able, 
away  from  home,  to  visit  relatives  and  friends  whom  she  had  not 
seen  for  years.  But  she  was  not  to  be  at  ease,  for  letters  from  the 
superintendent  of  nurses  called  for  her  assistance  until  she  yielded 
and  returned  in  March,  1904,  to  the  hospital  as  a  head  nurse,  con- 
tinuing her  work  until  the  first  of  June,  and  on  the  fourth  day  of 


IRutb  Havens  prime 


that  month  she  sailed  for  Europe  with  her  parents  and  two  of  her 
sisters.  She  returned  September  21,  and  soon  after  again  sought 
to  revive  old  friendships  with  relatives  and  friends  so  long  inter- 
rupted; but  again  letters  from  the  superintendent  of  nurses  at  the 
hospital  followed  her,  and  she  was  importuned  to  return  to  the  work 
at  that  post. 

It  had  long  been  her  intent  and  desire  to  devote  herself  to  the 
suffering  poor,  and  there  now  faced  her  the  question  of  determining 
for  life  the  sphere  of  her  duty.  In  a  long  conference  Avith  her 
mother  the  whole  matter  was  canvassed.  The  work  of  a  nurse 
among  the  poor  of  her  own  city  of  Yonkers  was  presented,  but  her 
mother  argued  that  there  she  would  necessarily  meet  competition 
with  other  nurses  who  needed  the  compensation  she  did  not  need, 
and  that  was  a  large  consideration  in  her  unselfish  weighing  of  the 
matter.  It  also  was  suggested  to  her  again  that  in  the  slum  work 
among  the  poor  of  New  York  City  she  would  be  in  the  way  of 
others  who  needed  the  compensation  which  she  did  not  need,  and 
that  again  appealed  to  her.  Then  the  call  to  the  hospital  was  con- 
sidered. That  she  was  wanted  there  told  the  story  that  her  work 
and  ability  were  recognized.  That  she  was  practically  offered  any 
sphere  of  work  there  which  she  should  choose  also  gratified  her. 
She  was  assured  that  her  father  would  provide  for  all  her  wants 
wherever  she  should  go.  All  these  considerations  were  weighed  by 
her,  and  she  determined  to  return  to  the  hospital  as  a  head  nurse, 
choosing  her  work  in  the  women's  surgical  wards,  as  she  had  been 
offered  the  choice  of  her  place,  planning  to  return  there  on  the 
first  of  January  to  remain  at  least  five  months. 

But  all  her  hopes  for  further  and  long  usefulness  here  in  this 
world  were  destined  to  defeat.  On  the  Sunday  before  Christmas 
came  the  terrible  information  that  she  had  somewhere  breathed  in 
the  seeds  of  a  dread  and  deadly  disease.  The  shock  was  as  out  of 
a  clear  sky  to  all  of  us.  Could  it  have  been  less  to  her,  for  she  was 
surrounded  with  happiness  and  cheer  in  that  happy  holiday  season, 
without  suspicion  of  any  impending  ill?  It  was  not  strange  that 
she  suffered  somewhat  with  the  shock,  not  because  she  dreaded  the 


Iln  nDemortam 


f)ossible  prospect,  but  because  it  suddenly  brought  to  naught  all  her 
cherished  hopes  of  devoting  her  life  to  others. 

Whence  this  catastrophe  had  come,  like  that  of  her  earlier  illness, 
no  one  probably  will  ever  know.  No  known  place  or  occasion  of 
exposure  to  its  contagion  could  be  recalled.  It  is  true  that  during 
the  recent  three  months  of  recreation  she  had  repeatedly  fallen  u^xjn 
sickness  and  suffering,  and,  as  was  her  nature,  had  given  herself 
up  to  the  work  of  nursing  the  sick,  and  at  least  once  after  her  last 
return  from  Europe  her  devoted  and  skilful  help  had  been  the  means 
of  saving  the  life  of  a  dear  sick  one.  While  in  Europe  she  had  also 
visited  hospitals  in  many  cities  to  observe  their  arrangements  and 
methods  and  their  work.  But  where  had  been  the  place  of  danger 
to  her  no  one  could  tell.  It  seems  noM'  that  the  exposure  must 
have  been,  can  only  have  been,  where  charity  called,  and  in  some 
lowly  place  where  disease  lurked,  and  where  she  went  to  find  and 
help  the  needy  and  the  suffering. 

During  that  week  before  Christmas,  notwithstanding  all  she  knew 
of  her  danger,  she  was  active  both  in  and  out  of  doors  in  the  prepara- 
tion for  its  joys,  and  spent  much  time  in  making  ready  her  own  gifts 
for  loved  ones.  She  rode  and  drove  with,  and  had  entertainment  with 
friends,  who,  as  we  thought,  would  only  be  separated  from  her  for 
a  short  time  at  most.  To  her  great  joy,  Miss  Maxwell,  from  the 
liospital,  spent  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  the  Friday  of  that  week 
with  her.  How  little  they  thought  what  a  few  days  more  would 
bring.  On  the  Saturday  of  that  week,  the  next  day,  without  a  note 
of  warning  came  a  suddenly  critical  moment,  and  she  was  then  for 
the  first  time  laid  upon  a  sick  bed.  One  after  another  came  new  tell- 
tale events  of  awful  distress  to  those  who  so  dearly  loved  her.  all  of 
which  she  met  with  a  courage  and  peace  that  astonished  them  all. 
The  days  wore  on.  full  of  anxiety  but  not  given  up  by  us  to  despair, 
for  we  hoped  against  hope.  They  were  days  of  trouble  to  us  but 
of  peace  to  her.  For  the  first  few  days  her  tw(^  sisters  had  devoted 
themselves  to  the  care  of  the  loved  sufferer,  but  the  heart  is  stronger 
than  the  nerves  and  the  head,  and  sympathy  and  love  more  than  off- 
sets judgment  and  discretion.     In  that  trial,  one  after  the  other,  two 

12 


JERUSALEM,   JULY,   1900 


1Rutb  Mavens  jprime 


trained  graduate  nurses  were  summoned  and  were  sent  by  Miss  Max- 
well. They  need  not  be  called  by  name.  One  was  her  own  class- 
mate, the  other  a  member  of  the  class  just  before  her.  Shall  we  ever 
forget  them  ?  Never.  Their  devoted  and  lovely  attention  was  more 
than  natural.  Their  watching  was  tireless;  their  cheer  to  her  and  to 
us  was  beyond  measure.  Will  they  ever  forget  the  patient,  lovely 
sufferer?  They  will  not.  They  have  found  places  in  our  hearts  and 
home  for  all  time  which  they  only  can  fill. 

Early  that  week,  the  last  week  of  the  year,  on  a  visit  to  her  bed- 
side her  father  had  said,  that  we  should  do  all  we  could  for  her ;  that 
we  expected  her  to  get  well  again ;  but  she  must,  to  her  utmost,  help 
and  make  a  strong  fight  herself.  This  she  promised  him  to  do.  We 
wonder  now  if  it  was  to  that  fight  she  referred  when  she  said  to  him 
on  the  last  day  of  her  life.  "  Father,  T  am  afraid  it  has  not  panned  out 
well." 

On  Friday.  January  13,  her  situation  had  changed  much,  and  a 
consultation  of  physicians  was  had  that  morning,  and  the  hopeless- 
ness of  her  condition  was  disclosed.  She  was  brave,  oh,  so  brave ! 
When  the  doctors  had  left  her  she  turned  to  her  lovely  nurses  and 
asked  to  know  about  it.  Their  hearts  naturally  forbade  them  to  tell 
her  all ;  and  later,  suspecting  the  truth,  she  turned  to  them  and  refer- 
ring to  the  physician  asked,  "  What  did  he  say?  "  And  later,  "  Girls, 
it  isn't  fair,  I  think  I  ought  to  know ;  don't  you  ?  "  And  she  was  told 
only  that  she  was  not  so  well.  But  after  a  moment,  realizing  the 
whole  truth,  she  looked  into  the  face  and  pressing  the  hand  of  the 
nurse,  who  was  scarce  able  to  conceal  her  tears,  said,  "  Don't  cry, 
dearie ;  I  am  so  glad  I  won't  live  now  to  be  an  invalid.  Oh,  I'm  so 
happy!  "  One  of  her  nurses,  distressed  at  Ruth's  coughing,  said  to 
her,  "  I  would  like  to  get  down  in  your  place  and  breathe  a  little 
while  for  you,"  and  she  reached  up  her  hand  and  patting  the  arm 
of  the  nurse  said,  "  That  kind  of  a  wish  shows  you  are  a  real  nurse." 

Those  three  days  before  the  end  were  bitter  days  to  all  but  Ruth. 
To  her  they  were  as  calm  and  full  of  intelligent  realization  as  were 
any  days  of  her  life.  On  that  Saturday  when  her  mother  sat  by 
her  side  and  talked  with  her  of  her  going  first  of  all  of  us,  and 

13 


II  n  nDemoriam 


commended  her  to  her  dear  Lord,  and  gave  her  messages  of  love  to 
her  two  dear  brothers,  now  more  than  ten  years  in  Heaven.  Ruth 
spoke,  oh,  so  calmly  and  peacefully  of  her  going,  and  of  her  only 
regret  as_she  said  that  her  "life  had  been  so  incomplete."  Her 
mother  sought  to  dispel  that  thought  by  telling  her  of  how  every 
member  of  the  family  had  the  night  before  gathered  around  the 
fireside  in  the  library,  and  without  any  conscious  concert  had  recalled 
her  numberless  sweet  and  helpful  acts  all  through  her  life  for  each 
one,  and  not  only  for  them,  but  for  all  within  her  reach,  and  how 
her  own  tireless  and  devoted  and  skilful  work  had  saved  two  lives 
in  the  household,  and  that  we  all  measured  hers  as  a  complete  and 
full  life,  without  an  opportunity  for  doing  good  to  others  unful- 
filled, and  that  the  good  Lord  who  was  taking  her  away  from  us 
was  taking  her  to  Himself,  where  He  had  more  for  her  to  do  for 
Him  in  higher  walks.  "  Well,  mother,''  said  she,  "  I  am  glad  to  go, 
and  I  am  glad  I  am  not  to  live  a  life  of  invalidism."  How  much 
she  must  have  pondered  over  the  whole  matter  during  her  few  days 
of  sickness. 

To  her  father's  assurance  that  the  dear  Lord  would  make  it  a 
short  separation,  and  that  he,  himself,  would  be  the  next,  and  would 
soon  follow,  she  replied  begging  him  not  to  think  so ;  that  he  must 
live  on  for  the  others,  but  he  told  her.  "  It  was  only  a  little  while 
and  we  would  all  cross  to  be  again  together,  for  it  was  like  a  little 
ocean  on  which  our  ships  were  continually  crossing,  and  that  she  was 
but  taking  one  a  little  earlier,  but  the  ship  he  would  take  would 
follow  soon." 

One  after  another  on  that  Saturday  afternoon  and  evening  she 
had  seen  and  talked  with  her  father  and  mother  and  her  brothers  and 
her  sisters  all,  and  in  the  early  evening  one  of  the  nurses  asked  her 
if  there  was  any  one  else  she  wanted  to  see.  True  womanhood  has 
most  intense  affection.  There  had  been  assigned  to  her  care  in  the 
hospital  as  a  probationer  a  young  and  gentle  girl,  who  was  possessed 
with  the  same  infatuation  to  know  all  that  it  means  to  be  a  nurse 
which  has  captivated  so  many  of  the  nicest  girls  of  our  land,  who 

M 


IRutb  Mavene  prime 


need  it  not  for  the  sake  of  gain.  She  was  one  of  such.  In  her  visits 
home  Ruth  had  talked  of  her,  and  first  of  her  fears  that  the  pro- 
bationary trials  would  be  too  much  for  her  and  that  she  would  fail 
of  acceptance,  and  later  said  that  she  had  changed  her  mind,  and 
that  her  young  friend  was  showing  real  perseverance  and  grit  in  it 
all,  and  would  surely  succeed.  Since  Ruth  has  gone  the  lovely  girl 
has  told  us  that  it  was  Ruth's  fine  example  and  tender  words  of 
encouragement  which  enabled  her  to  stand  the  tests,  and  that  to  her 
she  owes  her  success,  for  she  did  succeed.  In  the  hospital  life  of 
those  two  sweet  spirits  grew  the  deepest  affection  between  them. 
And  on  that  Saturday  evening  after  we  had  one  after  the  other  all 
talked  with  Ruth,  when  the  nurse  asked  her  if  there  was  any  one 
else  she  would  like  to  see,  she  said  if  it  was  possible  that  she  would 
like  to  see  that  young  nurse  again.  The  telephone  call  was  instantly 
made  to  the  hospital,  and  within  a  little  more  than  an  hour  her  young 
friend  stood  at  her  bedside.  The  fellowship  of  affection  can  not  be 
written.  She  did  not  leave  Ruth  until  Ruth  had  left  us  all.  Fellow- 
ship of  affliction  is  deep  and  lasting,  and  Ruth's  friend  has  a  place 
in  our  hearts  and  home  for  life. 

Her  grandfather  began  a  Sabbath  on  earth,  and  it  passed  into  the 
Heavenly  Sabbath  that  never  ended.  Each  of  her  two  brothers  left 
us  on  Sunday  to  begin  to  live  the  eternal  Heavenly  Sabbath.  Those 
recollections  were  revived  with  us  when  Sunday,  January  15,  opened, 
and  we  could  but  think  that  Ruth  too  might  leave  us  on  that  Lord's 
day.  The  hours  went  on  with  us  in  tears  and  grief.  Not  so  with 
that  dear  one — "  God's  own  child,"  as  her  younger  brother  called 
her  as  he  came  from  her  bedside.  Her  courage  and  her  calmness 
and  her  readiness  and  her  desire  to  be  at  rest  in  the  Everlasting  Arms 
was  supreme,  and  as  each  of  us  saw  her  radiant  but  calm  face  from 
time  to  time  that  day,  her  peace  and  satisfaction  and  desire  to  be 
away  was  beyond  writing  of.  Her  mother,  the  strongest  and  calmest 
of  us  all,  will  never  lose  the  memory  of  her  moments  with  her  that 
day  when  she  read  to  her  the  comforting  words. 

Her  never-ceasing  thoughtfulness  for  others  did  not  forsake  her  at 


tn  riDemoriam 


any  time  during  her  illness.  From  the  first  of  it  to  the  very  last  she 
was  tenderly  solicitous  for  the  sleep  and  the  rest  the  nurses  should 
have,  and  appreciating  the  grief  of  those  near  to  her  who  so  loved 
her  and  whom  she  loved,  she  continually  asked  about  them  and  gave 
directions  what  they  should  do,  just  as  though  she  were  nursing  them 
herself.  Particularly  for  her  mother,  whom  she  called  by  her  pet 
name,  "  Dear  Mammy,"  was  she  most  solicitous.  And  as  her  father 
was  about  to  come  to  her  bedside  she  asked  to  be  raised  on  her  pil- 
lows that  she  might  not  look  so  ill.  saying.  "  I  don't  want  to  cough 
while  he  is  here." 

Her  elder  brother  will  not  soon  forget  the  hour  he  spent  at  her 
bedside  and  read,  as  she  asked,  God's  words,  and  knelt  and  mingled 
his  prayers  with  hers  on  the  last  afternon  she  was  with  us. 

It  was  on  that  last  Sunday  that  she  asked  her  elder  sister  to  get 
paper  and  write,  and  then  she  made  mention  of  her  personal  treasures 
and  to  whom  she  desired  to  give  each  one.  Nor  did  she  forget  in 
the  act  those  poor  girls  she  had  rescued  from  sin  and  infamy,  who 
were  even  in  those  closing  hours  of  life  yet  on  her  heart,  and  with 
wishes  for  their  welfare  she  mentioned  articles  of  her  clothing  she 
soon  would  need  no  more  which  she  wanted  them  to  have,  as  she 
gave  their  names  and  addresses. 

It  was  in  the  room  in  which  she  was  born  from  which  she  was 
passing  away,  of  which  her  mother  had  that  day  spoken  of  to  her 
as  the  room  in  which  she  came  to  us  when  God  gave  her  to  us.  and 
from  which  now  He  was  taking  her  from  us  to  Himself.  And  even 
in  that  last  Sunday  morning  she  told  the  nurses,  how  she  loved  that 
room,  from  which  she  was  going  home ;  that  it  was  the  room  in 
which  she  was  born,  which  had  become  hers;  how  she  loved  it;  how 
it  was  furnished  for  her  just  as  she  had  chosen,  and  how  she  loved 
each  article  there.  She  talked  to  them  of  the  ornaments  which 
adorned  it,  of  whence  she  had  gathered  many  of  them  in  her  travels 
in  Europe  and  other  lands,  and  of  how  she  had  herself  arranged 
them  all.  How  she  loved  the  sunlight  as  it  came  in  the  south  win- 
dows in  sunshiny  days  during  her  sickness!  That  room  is  a  sanc- 
tuary now  to  us.  V 

i6 


1Rutb  Mavens  prime 


When  death  is  coming  near. 
When  thy  heart  shrinks  in  fear. 

And  thy  limbs  fail, 
Then  raise  thy  hands  and  pray 
To  Him  who  smooths  thy  waj 

Through  the  dark  vale. 

See'st  thou  the  eastern  dawn? 
Mear'st  thou  in  the  red  morn 

The  Angel's  song? 
Oh !  lift  thy  drooping  head, 
Thou  who  in  gloom  and  dread. 

Hast  lain  so  long. 

Death  comes  to  set  thee  free, 
Oh  meet  him  cheerily. 

As  thy  true  friend; 
And  all  thy  fears  shall  cease, 
And  in  eternal  peace 

Thy  penance  end." 


The  first  two  stanzas  of  that  Song  of  the  Pilgrim  was  not  the 
story  of  Ruth,  for  her  heart  shrank  not  from  the  vale  and  the  river, 
nor  had  she  any  gloom  or  dread.  She  longed  for  and  welcomed  the 
messenger  to  take  her  home.     Before  the  dawn  came  she  was  set  free. 

Just  as  that  Simday  went  out,  and  the  next  day  was  scarce  begun, 
the  end  came  and  God  took  her  to  Himself.  How  glad  a  translation 
and  a  rest  to  her !  How  she  welcomed  that  going  home,  to  eternal 
rest!  There  were  no  fears  for  her.  Hers  is  eternal  peace.  Her 
penance  ended  in  eternal  life.  New  service  is  hers  and  her  ministry 
of  love  is  continued  in  the  Celestial  Country. 

We  wonder  if  her  example  of  sweet,  helpful  living  for  others 
and  of  self-forgetfulness  shall  be  a  lost  example,  or  shall  bear  fruit 
in  others  who  knew  her.  Will  her  place  here  as  a  minister  for 
good  to  others  be  always  vacant?  Will  any  of  those  who  employ 
their  time  and  find  their  only  joys  in  the  second-rate  amusements 
and  diversions  which  attract  them  now  find  in  her  beautiful  and  self- 
eflFacing,  devoted  life  of  modest,  untrumpeted  service  and  ministry 
for  the  poor  and  the  suffering,  an  incentive  to  do  themselves  as  she 

17 


In  flDemoriam 


did,  and  carry  on  her  work  in  her  place  and  stead,  assured  of  the 
more  blessed  reward,  the  sense  of  the  heart-satisfying  satisfaction 
of  doing  as  she  learned  from  the  Christ  to  do,  in  "  going  about  doing 
good  "  to  the  poor,  the  fallen,  the  outcast,  the  sick  and  the  suffering; 
and  in  the  quiet  way  that  gets  no  applause  here  on  earth,  but  surely 
will  in  the  Better  Land  receive  the  words  of  the  King,  '"  Inasmuch 
as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these." 


Jl. 


V 


IRutb  IHavene  prime 


^be  ifuneral  ot  Obtse  IRutb  maveng  prime 


"  The  funeral  took  place  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Yonkers  on  Wednesday  morning,  January  i8.  There  was  a  large 
assembly  of  relatives  and  friends  upon  the  lovely  winter  day.  Six 
ministers  sat  in  the  pulpit,  which  was  covered  with  wreaths  and 
roses  and  lilies.  Two  of  her  favorite  hymns,  *  Christian  Dost  Thou 
See  Them  '  and  '  Jerusalem,  the  Golden,'  were  sung  by  the  congre- 
gation; prayers  were  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Underbill,  the  Rector  of 
St.  John's  Episcopal  Church,  and  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Burrell,  of  the 
Reformed  Church.  The  scripture  selected  by  her  father  was  read 
by  the  Pastor,  Rev.  Dr.  Stevenson,  who  also  made  a  tender  and 
appreciative  address.  Other  addresses  were  made  by  the  Rev. 
Professor  Fagnani,  of  Union  Theological  Seminary ;  the  Rev.  James 
McLeod,  D.  D.,  of  Scranton,  Pa.,  and  the  Rev.  David  J.  Burrell 
D.  D.,  of  the  Marble  Collegiate  Church,  which  three  had  known 
her  intimately  almost  from  her  very  childhood;  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
George  F.  Pentecost,  D.  D.,  who  had  been  her  pastor  for  about  five 
years  before  her  entrance  into  the  Nurses'  Training  School,  pro- 
nounced the  benediction.  The  services  were  most  comforting  and 
sympathetic,  and  the  family  bore  their  dead  to  their  burial  plot  in  the 
Cemetery  of  the  Evergreens,  in  the  afternoon." 


In  riDemoriam 


Selected  Scripture  IReaOtngg 


Hebrews  12,  9-13: 

9  Furthermore,  we  have  had  fatiiers  of  our  flesh  which  corrected  us,  and 
we  gave  them  reverence :  shall  we  not  much  rather  be  in  subjection  unto  the 
Father  of  spirits,  and  live? 

ID  For  they  verily  for  a  few  days  chastened  us  after  their  own  pleasure; 
but  he  for  our  profit,  that  we  might  be  partakers  of  his  holiness. 

11  Now  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous: 
nevertheless,  afterward  it  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto 
them  which  are  exercised  thereby. 

12  Wherefore  lift  up  the  hands  which  hang  down,  and  tin-  feeble  knees : 

13  And  make  strai.ght  paths  for  your  feet. 

/.  Peter  i,  3-9: 

3  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  according 
to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a  lively  hope  by  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead, 

4  To  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  undefiled.  and  that  fadeth  not  away, 
reserved  in  heaven  for  you, 

5  Who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation  ready  to 
he  revealed  in  the  last  time. 

6  Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice,  though  now  for  a  season,  if  need  be,  ye  are 
in  heaviness  through  manifold  temptations: 

7  That  the  trial  of  your  faith,  being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold  that 
perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire,  might  be  found  unto  praise  and  honor 
and  glory  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ : 

8  Whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love;  in  whom,  though  now  ye  see  him  not, 
yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory: 

g  Receiving  the  end  of  your  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  your  souls. 

/.  John  3,  2: 

2  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be:  but  we  know  that,  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him: 
for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is. 

/.  Corinthians  13,  12: 

12  For  now  we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly;  but  then  face  to  face:  now  I 
know  in  part;  but  then  shall  T  know  even  as  also  I  am  known. 

Psalms  17,  13: 

IS  As  for  me,  I  will  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness:  I  shall  be  satisfied, 
when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness.  ^ 

JO 


IRutb  Havens  prime 


John  14,  2  and  S- 

2  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions:  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have 
told  you.     I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you. 

3  And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  1  will  come  again,  and  receive 
you  unto  myself;  that  where  1  am,  there  ye  may  be  also. 

Revelations  3,  5: 

5  He  that  overcometh,  the  same  shall  be  clothed  in  white  raiment;  and  I 
will  not  blot  out  his  name  out  of  the  book  of  life,  but  I  will  confess  his  name 
before  my  Father,  and  before  his  angels. 

Revelations  14,  2  and  3: 

2  And  I  heard  the  voice  of  harpers  harping  with  their  harps : 

3  And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  before  the  throne,  and  before  the 
four  beasts,  and  the  elders :  and  no  man  could  learn  that  song  but  the  hundred 
and  forty  and  four  thousand,  which  were  redeemed  from  the  earth. 

Revelations  21,  23-26: 

23  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neitiier  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it : 
for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof. 

24  And  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it : 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  honour  into  it. 

25  And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not  be  shut  at  all  by  day :  for  there  shall  be 
no  night  there. 

26  And  they  shall  bring  the  glory  and  honour  of  the  nations  into  it. 

Revelations  22,  3-5: 

3  And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse :  but  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 
Lamb  shall  be  in  it;  and  his  servants  shall  serve  him; 

4  And  they  shall  see  his  face ;  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads. 

5  And  there  shall  be  no  night  there ;  and  they  need  no  candle,  neither  light 
of  the  sun ;  for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light :  and  they  shall  reign  for  ever 
and  ever. 


#^ 


In  nDemortam 


H&&re9se6 


IRcv.  "M.  p.  Stevenson,  2).  D. 

Dear  Friends. — We  have  come  into  this  house  of  prayer  to  pay 
our  tribute  of  love  and  honor  to  a  rarely  beautiful  and  unselfish  life. 
When  I  think  of  how  her  health  was  broken  and  her  strength  was 
spent,  it  seems  to  me  that  in  a  very  true  and  very  real  sense  it  may 
be  said  of  her  as  it  was  said  of  the  Master  she  so  tenderly  loved  and 
so  unswervingly  followed,  ^'  She  saved  others,  but  herself  she  could 
not  save."  The  world  would  say,  I  suppose,  that  her  life  was  short 
and  that  death  had  come  to  her  untimely ;  but  we  should  remember 
that  "  We  live  in  deeds,  not  years ;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths ;  in  feel- 
ings, not  in  figures  on  the  dial.  We  should  count  time  by  heart 
throbs.  He  most  lives  who  thinks  most,  feels  the  noblest,  acts  the 
best." 

Measured  by  such  a  standard  her  life  was  long,  fully  rounded  and 

complete,  and  though  the  space  it  occupied  in  time  was  not  large, 

yet  in  the  motives  that  controlled  it,  in  the  devotion  that  animated 

it,  and   in  the  spirit  that  inspired  it.   it  was   splendidly,   divinely 

great.     For 

"  Tt  is  not  growing  like  a  tree 
In  bulk,  doth  make  man  better  be : 
Or  standing  long,  an  oak,  three  hundred  years. 
To  fall,  a  log  at  last,  dry,  bald  and  sere. 
A  lily  of  a  day.  is  fairer  far  in  May, 
Although  it  fall  and  die  that  night. 
It  was  the  plant  and  flower  of  light. 
In  small  proportions  we  just  beauties  see 
And  in  short  measures  life  may  perfect  be." 

We  are  privileged  to  have  with  us  three  friends,  Drs.  Fagnani, 
McLeod  and  Burrell,  who  have  known  almost  from  its  beginning 
the  life  of  this  noble  woman  now  called  to  a  higher  service,  and 
they  will  speak  to  us  out  of  the  fullness  of  their  knowledge  and 
affectionate  sympathy. 


IRutb  Havens  prime 


TRcv.  Cbarles  p.  jfagnani,  W.'B. 

This  is  a  soldier's  funeral! 

That  means  sadness,  for  it  is  a  funeral.  But  it  also  means  exul- 
tation, for  it  is  the  giving  of  the  last  honors  to  one  who  was  a 
warrior.  When  her  name  is  pronounced  at  the  roll-call  the  answer 
will  come,  "  Died  on  the  field  of  honor !  "  She  called  it  "  Dying 
in  harness  ",  for  it  was  all  planned  that  she  should  have  gone  back 
to  the  hospital  January  i  to  take  up  the  coveted  work  of  a  head 
nurse. 

We  think  of  soldiers  as  men  arrayed  in  barbaric  trappings  whose 
mission  is  to  kill.  Hers  was  the  pure  white  uniform,  symbolic  of 
tender  helpfulness  and  healing. 

The  conventional  soldier's  business  is  to  fight  an  equal  foe,  flesh 
and  blood  like  himself.  She  had  been  trained  for  three  strenuous 
years  to  grapple  at  the  bedside  with  the  King  of  Terrors.  An 
unequal  fight,  forsooth  !  What  can  a  frail  girl  do  against  such  odds  ? 
And  yet  not  once,  not  twice,  did  she  drive  him  baffled  from  his  prey. 
He  has  had  the  last  word,  however,  it  would  seem,  for  we  who 
loved  her  are  to-day  gathered  about  the  pallid  face  that  we  shall 
see  no  more  under  the  sun. 

But,  O,  death,  where  is  thy  victory? 

Are  her  three  years  of  arduous  preparation  in  the  training  school 
then  gone  for  naught?  Little  do  we  realize  the  infinite  possibilities 
of  service  in  the  larger  life  to  which  she  has  been  promoted,  if  we 
imagine  that  she  is  not  all  the  better  equipped  by  that  hospital 
discipline  for  her  Master's  errands. 

And  yet  she  ought  not  to  have  died.  Her  dying  was  premature, 
and  premature  deaths  ought  not  to  be ;  and  the  time  will  surely  come 
when  by  reason  of  better  understanding  of  the  ways  of  God,  which 
we  call  the  laws  of  nature,  and  of  more  intelligent  and  widespread 
social  conformity  thereto,  death  out  of  due  time  will  be  the  rare 
exception. 

She  leaves  a  great  void  in  our  hearts,  for  she  was  very  sweet  and 
gentle,  and  helpful  and  unselfish,  and  such  are  all  too  few  in  this 

23 


In  riDemoriam 


sad  world ;  that  there  should  now  be  one  less  means  a  great  deal  for 
all  who  came  within  the  reach  of  her  beautiful  influence. 

But  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,  for  her  sealed  lips  are  more 
eloquent  than  speech.  We  feel  that  we  must  live  more  nobly  than 
we  have  heretofore  attempted  to  do ;  that  the  second-rate  things  must 
become  more  despicable  in  our  eyes ;  that  it  should  be  easier  and 
pleasanter  for  us  not  to  think  so  much  of  our  own  things,  but  more 
of  the  things  of  others,  and  so  live  in  the  light  of  the  Master's 
presence  that  our  sense  of  values  may  be  adjusted  to  His,  so  that 
when  our  time  shall  come  to  lie  silent  in  death,  those  who  know  us 
will  thank  God  that  we  have  lived. 


IRev.  S^ames  /iRcXeoO,  2).  D. 

My  Dear  Frie;nds. — When  our  hearts  are  breaking,  and  when  we 
need  a  word  of  comfort,  there  are  no  words  like  the  words  of  God. 
"  Blessed  be  God,  even  the  Father  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Father  of  Mercies,  and  the  God  of  all  comfort,  who  comforted  us 
in  all  our  tribulations,  that  we  may  be  able  to  comfort  them  which 
are  in  trouble  by  the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves  are  comforted 
of  God  ". 

It  is  not  easy  for  me  to  speak  on  this  occasion.  To  sit  beside  you. 
a  silent  mourner,  would  be  more  in  harmony  with  my  feelings.  Our 
Ruth  is  gone — T  always  called  her  Ruth — and  we  are  here  to  bear 
her  body  to  the  tomb.  She  needs  no  eulogy.  At  such  a  time  as  this 
one  who  needs  a  eulogy  does  not  deserve  it,  and  one  who  deserves 
a  eulogy  does  not  need  it.  Ruth  Prime  came  of  good  stock,  and 
she  had  a  right  to  be  proud  of  her  lineage.  Her  grandfather  and 
her  great-grandfather,  like  her  father  and  mother,  were  devoted 
servants  of  Christ,  and  in  her  father's  hou.se  she.  from  a  child, 
knew  the  "  Holy  Scriptures  which  were  able  to  make  her  wise  unto 
salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ".  .\nd  she.  along 
with  her  sisters  and  brothers,  was  well-grounded  in  the  Shorter 
Catechism.     T  recall  and  vou  too  will  remember  some  words  which 


NEW   YORK,   MAY,   1901 


IRutb  Mavene  prime 


she  now  appreciates  more  than  ever  before.  They  are  not  words 
of  Scripture,  but  they  are  eminently  Scriptural,  and  they  are  the 
words  of  that  Catechism.  I  have  repeated  them  to  myself  hundreds 
of  times,  and  i  rejoice  in  the  truths  they  embody.  These  are  the 
words :  "  The  souls  of  believers  are  at  their  death  made  perfect  in 
holiness,  and  do  immediately  pass  unto  glory  ;  and  their  bodies  being 
still  united  to  Christ,  do  rest  in  their  graves  till  the  resurrection  ". 
But  is  that  all?  No,  thank  God,  there  are  other,  and  if  possible 
greater,  blessings  to  follow,  for  "'  At  the  resurrection,  believers 
being  raised  up  in  glory,  shall  be  openly  acknowledged  and  acquitted 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  and  made  perfectly  blessed  in  the  full 
enjoying  of  God  to  all  Eternit}^  ".  Is  not  that  a  glorious  prospect? 
Thank  God  for  it! 

As  she  grew  in  years,  she  grew  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

Her  piety  was  of  a  most  humble  type.  It  found  expression  in 
deeds  rather  than  in  words.  She  could  talk  Avell  for  Jesus,  but  she 
could  work  for  Him  better.  If  she  could  now  speak  she  would, 
I  doubt  not,  caution  us  against  speaking  in  her  praise ;  but  I  am 
sure  she  would  tell  us  to  praise  her  Redeemer,  and  to  give  to  Him 
all  the  glory  for  any  good  thing  she  had  been  permitted  to  do  in 
His  name. 

It  has  been  said  that  her  death  was  untimely ;  but  I  am  not  so 
sure  of  that.  She  did  indeed  "  fall  in  sleep  "  in  her  young  woman- 
hood, but 

"  It  matters  not  at  what  hour  o'  th'  day 
The  Christian  falls  asleep.     Death  can  not  come 
To  her  untimely  who  is  fit  to  die. 
The  less  of  this  cold  earth,  the  more  of  Heaven, 
The  briefer  life,  the  earlier  immortality." 

Thank  God,  my  dear  sorrowing  friends,  for  tlie  hope  of  a  blessed 
immortality ;  a  hope  which  Ruth  fondly  cherished  and  which  she 
has  now  realized ;  and  surely  you  will  thank  God  again  and  again, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  for  the  bright  prospect  of  a  blessed 
and  everlasting  reunion. 

25 


Hn  nDemoriam 


My  tears  mingle  with  yours  as  I  think  of  Ruth  and  as  I  say 
farewell!  But  at  the  same  time,  you  and  I  can  look  through  our 
tears,  and  far  away  beyond  our  tears,  to  the  blooming  fields  of 
immortality,  where  her  redeemed  spirit  now  is,  and  where  she  will 
be  "forever  with  the  Lord  ". 


■Rev.  DavlJ)  3.  36uuell,  2).  D. 

It  is  the  glory  of  the  Gospel  that  it  brings  life  and  immortality 
to  light;  and  in  so  doing  it  solves  the  mystery  of  death.  In  the 
philosophy  of  the  Gospel  death  is  not  the  end  but  the  beginning  of 
life.  The  life  which  we  are  living  here  and  now  is  not  really  life 
at  all  but  only  preparation  for  it.  The  days  of  our  years  on  earth, 
whether  less  or  more  than  threescore  years  and  ten,  are  probationary ; 
they  are  merely  an  apprenticeship  for  something  beyond.  Death  is 
a  line  of  shadow  falling  across  our  path,  signifying  that  our  pro- 
bation is  ended  and  our  character  fixed ;  we  step  across  that  line 
and  go  living  right  on. 

We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  a  short  life  as  an  incomplete  life. 
We  forget  that  the  life  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  scarce  longer  than 
that  life  of  service  of  her,  the  dear  one  who  has  just  left  us  and  gone 
on  before  us.  And  yet  of  His  own  life  He  said,  "  It  is  finished ''. 
As  the  days  go  by  and  we  learn  more  and  more  of  and  recall  her 
work  of  faith,  and  of  her  doing  for,  and  of  love  for  others  who 
suffered,  and  to  whom  she  ministered  and  loved  to  minister,  we 
shall  find  out  and  realize  more  and  more  that  her  short  life  was  not 
incomplete,  and  though  it  was  not  trumpeted,  she  was  so  modest 
in  all  her  work,  it  was  so  sincere  and  so  helpful  and  so  eminently 
useful  that  hers  was  a  life  fully  rounded  out  and  complete  and 
finished.  And  it  was  so  full  of  example  for  those  who  knew  her: 
such  an  incentive  for  others  to  l)e  like  her  and  be  up  and  doing. 

But  her  work  of  preparation,  as  we  thought,  for  usefulness  here 
was  not  for  the  world  only,  little  as  we  are  able  to  see  how  she  can 
be  spared  from  it. 

a6 


IRutb  Mavens  prime 


The  cry  of  Jesus,  "  It  is  finished,"  meant  that  the  foundations 
were  laid  for  a  kingdom  whose  superstructure  has  ever  since  been 
going  up.  Thus  the  death  of  a  Christian  is  merely  an  advance  to 
larger  tasks  and  responsibilities.  Our  young  friend  who  devoted 
her  life  to  labors  of  love  has  received  the  serznce  chevron.  Had  she 
been  summoned  by  the  surgeon-general  of  our  country  for  assign- 
ment to  duty  at  the  front,  her  friends  would  have  rejoiced  in  the 
honor  conferred  upon  her.  But  greater  things  are  hers!  She  has 
been  promoted  by  her  Divine  Lord  to  a  place  among  those  choice 
spirits  of  whom  it  is  written,  "  Are  they  not  sent  forth  to  minister 
unto  such  as  are  heirs  of  salvation?"  There  must  needs  be  grief 
in  the  separation;  but  those  who  loved  her  will  rejoice  in  her  call 
to  come  up  higher.  The  schooling  which  she  had  in  the  wards  of 
the  hospital  and  among  the  destitute  people  of  the  slums  must  be 
of  immeasurable  value  in  the  larger  ministrations  of  mercy  to  which 
her  Master  has  now  called  her. 

And  two  things  remain — memory  and  hope.  We  shall  not  forget 
her  gracious  face,  her  winning  voice,  her  kindly  hands.  They  will 
stimulate  us  to  nobler  living  and  emphasize  anew  the  value  of  the 
gospel  which  made  her  what  she  was,  and  better  still,  made  her 
what  she  is.  And  we  shall  meet  again.  "  We  do  not  sorrow  as 
others  who  have  no  hope."  The  day  of  the  home-bringing  will 
come,  a  day  of  reunion,  of  handclasping,  of  "  knitting  severed  friend- 
ships up  ".  All  the  bright  days  of  earth  rolled  into  one  could  not 
equal  the  happiness  of  that  day. 

"  As  for  thy  friends,  they  are  not  lost. 
The  several  vessels  of  thy  fleet, 
Though  sundered  far,  by  tempest  tossed. 
Shall   safely  in  the  harbor  meet.'' 

Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these  words,  "  In  my 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions.  If  it  were  not  so  I  would  have 
told  you.     I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you." 

And  let  us  live  as  those  who  realize  the  importance  of  these  years 
so  fraught  with  possibility  touching  the  eternal  hereafter.  We  are 
climbing  the  steps  of  the  Temple  of  Life,  under  burdens  that  oft- 

27 


In  flDemoriam 


times  seem  heavier  than  we  can  bear ;  ])resently  we  shall  stand  at  the 
threshold,  where  a  bright  angel  who  is  sometimes  strangely  called 
"  The  King  of  Terrors  ",  will  roll  back  the  great  gates  and  bid  us 
come  in  and  begin  to  live.  The  friends  we  leave  behind  may  weep, 
like  the  elders  of  Ephesus  who  thought  they  should  see  the  face 
of  Paul  no  more ;  but  though  "  weeping  endure  for  the  night,  joy 
cometh  in  the  morning  ".  They  will  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable 
when  the  veil  is  lifted  and  they  know  all. 

Till  then,  dear  friend,  farewell.     Nay  rather.  Auf  wiedersehen — 
■  until  we  meet  again  ". 


wm 


IRutb  Havens  prime 


©bituar^   Botices 


[From  the  Bulletin  of  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Yonkers,  Jan.  22,  1905] 

Since  our  last  communion  one  of  our  younger  members,  Miss  Ruth 
Havens  Prime^  after  a  life  of  notable  heroism  and  self-eflfacing  service,  has 
passed  from  us  into  the  immortality  of  joy.  May  her  inspiring  example  be 
the  means  of  quickening  a  nobler  life,  a  deeper  devotion  and  a  more  sympa- 
thetic spirit  of  helpfulness  in  us  all. 


[The  New  York  Observer,  January  19,  1905.] 

Ruth  Havens  Prime,  beloved  daughter  of  Elder  Ralph  E.  Prime,  of 
Yonkers,  fell  asleep  at  her  home,  surrounded  by  the  tender  ministry  of  those 
who  loved  her  dearly,  in  the  flower  of  her  age,  on  January  16.  Ever  sweet 
and  serious  as  a  child,  the  beautifully  religious  atmosphere  of  her  home 
wrought  its  natural  result,  and  she  found  herself  more  and  more  averse,  as 
she  grew  up,  to  a  life  of  aimless,  self-centered  society  amusements. 

With  brave  determination,  yearning  to  be  of  service  in  the  world,  she  suc- 
ceeded in  entering  the  Training  School  of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital,  in  this 
city.  The  searching  discipline  of  this  experience  brought  out  into  still  clearer 
light  the  beauties  of  her  character.  Her  heart  went  forth  in  yearning  sym- 
pathy to  the  sorrows  of  her  patients.  She  bore  their  griefs.  Her  care  for  them 
did  not  end  with  their  dismissal  from  the  hospital,  but  followed  them  outside 
and  took  the  form  of  moral  and  spiritual  and  practical  solicitude.  She  visited 
them,  and  found  work  for  them,  and  made  their  paths  straight.  Wise  and 
practical  she  was  as  well  as  kind :  wholesome  and  pointed  could  be  her  words 
of  admonition  to  the  wayward.  Yet  she  was  not  as  strong  physically  as  she 
needed  to  he.  Illness  baffled  her  at  times,  but  her  resolution  carried  her 
through,  her  one  dread  being  lest  she  should  fail  to  be  graduated  and  be 
compelled  to  give  up  the  glorious  career  to  which  she  seemed  predestined. 

At  length  the  three  strenuous  years  were  passed,  and  she  was  graduated 
among  the  first  in  her  class,  and  foremost  in  the  affections  of  all  her  com- 
panions and  teachers.  Then  came  the  rest  and  change  of  a  trip  to  Europe, 
beyond  which  gleamed  brightly  the  goal  of  return  to  the  hospital  as  a  head 
nurse,  for  such  was  her  desire,  and  such  Miss  Maxwell's  cherished  purpose. 

Rut  the  Heavenly  Father's  plan  was  a  better  one.  The  Master  needed  her 
for  more  glorious  service  in  one  of  His  other  mansions.  The  pagan  symbol 
for  such  a  life  would  be  a  broken  column ;  we.  who  sorrow  not  as  those  who 
have  no  hope,  see  in  it  a  Heaven  aspiring  flame  returning  to  its  source.  When 
the  hemorrhages  began  so  suddenly,  and  she  was  stricken  down,  she  knew  only 
too  well  what  it  meant.     Her  fear  now  was  lest  she  should  recover  only  to 


■fln  flDemortam 


Jive  as  an  invalid,  requiring  to  be  ministered  unto,  instead  of  ministering,  and 
so  she  was  glad  to  go.  since  she  could  no  longer  be  of  use  here. 

Conscious  and  clear-minded  almost  to  the  very  last  hour,  she  was  troubled 
by  the  thought  that  perhaps  she  had  been  headstrong  and  unwise  after  all 
in  insisting  on  a  nurse's  career;  did  not  the  event  seem  to  show  it?  The 
mother's  heart  divined  the  shadow,  and  the  mother's  voice  brought  balm  in- 
expressible as  it  rehearsed  in  those  dying  ears  what  the  daughter's  trained 
skill  had  done  for  her  own  family,  reminded  her  of  those  two  lives  saved  in 
sudden  emergencies,  and  of  other  minor  but  important  ministries  within  the 
home  circle.  And  so  the  three  years  of  devoted  study  had  not  been  so  fruit- 
less after  all ! 

As  she  lay  propped  up  against  the  pillows  the  wealth  of  her  dark  curls 
framing  the  sweet  and  child-like,  but  oh  so  pallid  face,  waiting  quietly  for  the 
rising  of  the  gentle  tide  that  was  to  bear  her  safe  across  the  Bar,  her  thoughts 
following  the  grooves  of  life-long  habit  were  only  for  others,  insisting  that  the 
nurses  should  have  rest,  that  her  visitors  should  not  stand.  And  so  in  spite 
of  tear-dimmed  eyes  we  thank  the  Heavenly  Father  for  the  Christian  home, 
and  the  Christian  hospital,  and  the  Christ-like  spirit  promoted  to  the  reward 
of  grander  possibilities  in  her  Saviour's  service  and  closer  contact  with  His 
love.  C.  P.  F. 

700  Park  avenue,  New  York. 


[The   Presbyterian,   February    i,    1905.] 

Early  in  the  morning  of  January  16.  1905,  after  a  brief  illness.  Miss  Ruth 
Havens  Prime,  second  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ralph  E.  Prime,  passed 
away  at  the  home  of  her  parents,  in  Yonkers,  N.  Y.  She  was  in  the  thirty- 
first  year  of  her  age,  and  had  been  born  and  brought  up  in  the  midst  of  the 
people  of  the  city  of  her  birth,  where  she  had  become  loved  and  respected. 

She  was  educated  at  the  Yonkers  High  School  and  Miss  Bliss's  Academj', 
completing  her  studies  at  Evelyn  College,  in  Princeton,  N.  J.  Early  in  life 
she  formed  the  purpose  of  devoting  herself  to  the  work  of  nursing.  She 
entered  the  Training  School  of  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  in  the  fall  of  1900; 
she  completed  her  course,  and  was  graduated  in  June,  1903,  being  the  fourth 
in  a  large  class.  Returning  to  the  hospital  as  a  head  nurse,  she  had  charge 
of  one  of  the  surgical  wards  until  the  following  summer,  when  she  took  a 
leave  of  absence  to  accompany  her  parents  upon  a  trip  to  Europe. 

It  was  her  expectation  to  return  to  her  work  with  the  beginning  of  the 
present  year  as  a  head  nurse  in  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  in  New  York  City, 
but  before  the  time  arrived  she  was  stricken  with  the  disease  which  resulted 
in  her  death — the  seeds  of  which  were  undoubtedly  contracted  by  the  strain 
and  exposure  of  her  hospital  life. 

Her  life,  though  short  in  years,  was  rich  in  usefulness  and  accomplishment. 
A  devoted  Christian,  she  leaves  behind  her  a  blessed  memory  of  devotion  to 
duty  and  unselfish  ministration  to  others.  She  never  ceased  to  follow  up  the 
poor  who  were  under  her  care,  and  not  a  few  of  those  whom  she  nursed  she 
rescued  from  paths  of  sin  and  vice.  Of  her  it  may  truly  be  said :  Her  works 
do  follow  her.  >y 

30 


IRuth  Mavene  iprime 


[The  Westminster,  February  4,  1905.] 

Death  has  called  away  the  daughter  of  General  Ralph  E.  Prime,  of  Yonkers, 
Miss  Ruth  Havens  Primk.  Thoughtful  and  serious  as  a  child,  as  she 
matured  she  found  no  relish  in  aimless  and  superficial  society  life  and  gave 
three  strenuous  years  toward  fitting  herself  to  engage  in  hospital  work.  She 
graduated  with  honor,  but  soon  disease  manifested  itself  and  nothing  could 
arrest  its  progress  and  so,  though  richly  prepared  to  render  earthly  service, 
the  Master  had  need  of  her  at  once,  and  called  her  to  Himself.  Would  that 
many  young  people  would  cherish  the  high  ideals  she  aimed  to  reach. 


[The  Sunday  School  Times.  February  4,  iQOSl 
Life  is  given  us  to  be  spent,  not  saved.  Yet  whenever  a  particularly  fruit- 
ful life  passes  out  from  this  world  suddenly,  because  spent  gloriously,  there 
are  always  some  to  talk  about  it  as  a  "  mistake  "  that  should  not  have  been 
allowed  to  happen,  because  it  might  perchance  have  been  prevented  if  the  life 
had  been  more  selfishly  guarded  instead  of  so  lavishly  given  for  others.  Such 
a  life  and  death  as  that  of  Ruth  Havens  Prime,  the  daughter  of  General 
Ralph  E.  Prime,  of  Yonkers,  New  York,  who,  in  her  thirty-first  year,  has  just 
entered  upon  a  still  richer  life  beyond,  was  of  this  sort.  Some  years  ago  she 
determined  to  devote  herself  to  the  work  of  nursing.  Entering  upon  the  strict 
discipline  and  training  of  that  work,  she  w-as  graduated  in  1903  fourth  in  a 
large  class  of  students.  As  a  head  nurse  in  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  of 
New  York  she  was  placed  in  charge  of  one  of  the  surgical  wards,  where,  after 
a  leave  of  absence  last  summer,  she  had  expected  to  continue  in  her  chosen 
service  at  the  beginning  of  this  year.  But  before  the  time  arrived  she  was 
stricken  with  a  disease  undoubtedly  contracted  during  the  strain  and  exposure 
of  her  hospital  life,  and  in  a  few  short  weeks  she  had  succumbed.  Yet  her 
brief  ministry  was  marked  with  a  richness  of  service  that  is  not  measured  by 
time.  She  had  devoted  herself  to  the  spiritual  needs,  as  well  as  the  physical, 
of  those  whom  she  could  help.  She  rescued  some  from  lives  of  sin.  And  in 
it  all  she  forgot  self  and  danger  to  self.  There  is  no  mistake  in  the  spending 
of  such  a  life.  Its  thirty  years  count  more  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom 
than  three  score  years  of  self-protected  existence. 


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